All That Glitters
by Amethyst Hunter
Summary: Oneshot. Diamonds are a girl's best friend...especially when they sparkle in the light. Masaki/Hevn pairing.


Title: All That Glitters

Author: Amethyst Hunter

Fandom/pairing: Get Backers, Masaki/Hevn

Rating: G

Warnings/Spoilers: Minor spoilers for Hevn and Masaki's history. May be AU as I haven't gotten that far in the manga yet, so I'm taking a little creative license here, heh.

Word count: 980

Notes: Based on a fic prompt for the springkink LJ community. Prompt: "permanent markings - "I want you to remember that you're mine."

Disclaimer: I don't own GB.

Summary: Diamonds are a girl's best friend...especially when they sparkle in the light.

--

The entire point of becoming a negotiator was to avoid dangerous situations. Like the one she currently found herself in. Those were supposed to be the responsibility of her agents. "I need new agents," Hevn muttered to herself as she pulled the grass and leaves out of her mussed hair.

Agents like the one who had just pitched her out of that crashing helicopter – somehow she always managed to get dragged into whatever crazy situation she'd contracted them for. Doctor Jackal had landed with considerably more grace, and was even now rising to full height as he neatly brushed a few twigs from the brim of his hat and helped her to stand. "My, my! What an exciting adventure, I must say, hmm, Hevn-san?"

Mindful of the danger of his unpredictable temperament, Hevn shot him a sullen look. "At least one of us is having fun. I didn't come all this way only to be shot out of the sky like some clay pigeon!"

"Of course not," Akabane soothed. "But, I must say it is rather fortunate that we were, else I might not have had the chance to deliver this." And he reached into the breast pocket of his coat.

Hevn half-flinched, expecting a volley of knives to spring from his hand when it emerged – he had been known to play turncoat every now and then – but as the white-gloved fingers uncurled and extended to her, she frowned instead. "A box?"

"I was instructed to present it to you should we come to a crossroads between life and death," the transporter explained as he offered her the small jewelry box. "Well, I daresay that our little interruption back there met the criteria," Akabane chuckled. "In any case, the man who hired me asked that you receive this gift in the spirit in which it was intended."

Still frowning, Hevn cautiously accepted the box from him. She flipped up the lid. The diamond ring was plain by most stores' standards – but for the single prism of light that continually flickered within the stone's heart, making a far more beautiful reflection than any natural wonder alone. She wondered how on earth the giver had managed to create it.

There was a slip of paper poking out from underneath the padded part of the interior. She pulled it out and unfolded it.

_Hevn,_

_Since the time we met I have come to understand what guide illuminates your path. I only hope that, whatever lies between us now, you will remember that you are still mine as well._

_Kurusu_

Hevn blinked back an unexpected sting of tears. How could he? How dare he? How could _she?_ Was there still any hope for them after all that they'd been through, all that they would doubtless face in the days to come?

He'd tried to have her killed, on the orders of his faceless superiors. But if she were brutally honest with herself – and she wasn't going to fool herself despite the part of her that argued she was better off leaving while her heart was still in one piece – she had to admit that she still loved him. Loved him, the bastard. And yet, how could they build a foundation on such treacherous history? Part of her knew he hadn't really wanted to stage such a dire confrontation, but the other half knew that he was also honorable to a fault, and no matter how terrible the contract's terms dictated, Masaki would carry them out to the bitter end. It was just his way and she'd counseled herself to accept that long ago, when a roughened blond soldier and a blonder spitfire had clashed in more tender passions.

A shadow seemed to dim the light around her and she thought that the diamond's inner fire had spent itself, until she looked up and realized that Akabane had drifted closer to her. He peered curiously at the stone whose sparkle would last long after its material casing had eroded – if ever, that.

"Hmm. How interesting. If he ever decides to give up the life of espionage, Kagami-kun has a promising career as a jeweler," Doctor Jackal mused.

Hevn studied the ring. "I wouldn't have thought that Masaki would dare to take on the Observer of Babylon City," she said, remembering the cold, merciless smiler in white with a shudder. At least Jackal _pretended_ to be human – Kyouji Kagami had shown no such inclination of humanity in spite of his charm.

Akabane's eyes were hooded as they briefly flickered up to hers. "Ah, but they say, Hevn-san, that a man whose truth is purest to him will do anything to preserve it. I imagine that Kagami-kun's concession did not come lightly," the transporter said with a hint of wicked glee that bespoke of a long-anticipated battle ahead.

Hevn considered this. They said that diamonds were forever; perhaps this was Kurusu's way of telling her that despite his world-weary view, he still retained hope and faith in their future? _Remember that you are still mine as well. _Rings were forever too, or at least, their promise meant to be...

"You don't make commitments lightly, do you, Doctor Jackal?" Hevn said as she took the ring out of its placeholder and held it up. The sun glinted off the rounded edges of the stone and merged with the starfire inside it.

"Certainly not," Akabane replied.

She wondered who Masaki had promised him as compensation for this delivery. As she slid the ring over her finger and turned her hand in the light, watching its glitter caress her skin, she had a feeling she already knew. Interesting, that.

"Neither do I," Hevn said, closing the box and tucking it inside her purse.

Masaki's shining star stayed on her finger – as it always would no matter what was to come, she believed.

--


End file.
